AG Coakley stumbles in Mass., Brown claims Senate seat

BOSTON (Legal Newsline) - Republican Scott Brown topped state Attorney General Martha Coakley in a special election for a U.S. Senate seat Tuesday, giving the GOP a third big win in recent months.

Brown, a state senator, overcame a large deficit after the December primary elections, surging past Coakley in the past week. With 75 percent of precincts reporting at 9:40 p.m., Brown had received 53 percent of the vote to Coakley's 46.

Brown will replace the late Ted Kennedy, a Democrat who held the seat for 47 years.

Because Brown will be the 41st Republican senator and stated in a debate last week that he will vote against it, the health care plan of President Barack Obama may be in jeopardy.

Brown served in the state House of Representatives from 1998-2004, then started in the state Senate in 2004.

Coakley has been the state's attorney general since 2007 and defeated two challengers in the December primary.

Some ridiculed her campaign, which included an advertisement that misspelled "Massachusetts." She also referred to former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling as a New York Yankees fan.

It is another proud moment for the GOP during Obama's first year. Republicans Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell were elected governors of New Jersey and Virginia, respectively, in November.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at jobrienwv@gmail.com.